Elmer e



E. E. LANE.

BLANK FITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-17.1915.

l 1 95 ,82 3 Patented Aug. 22, 1916.

my. a,

mm; liawenm:

nnr are.

ELMER E. LANE, OF BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF IEA'IERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

BLANK-FITTING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented A g. 22, 1916.

Application filed December 17, 1915. Serial No. 67,420.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, ELMER E. LANE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beverly, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certaln new and useful Improvements in Blank-Fittlng Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to blank fitting machines and more particularly, to a blank feeding mechanism for blank fitting machines.

Machines for skiving box toe and counter blanks generally employ an automatic feeding mechanism which feeds blanks from a stack supported in a magazine. The blanks in the magazine are acted upon by a follower which holds them down in position to be taken one at a time by the feeding mechanism. To prevent more than one blank at a time to be fed to the skiving devices, the space between the'bottom of the front wall of the magazine and the table on which the blanks are supported must be but slightly wider than the thickness of one blank. Blanks of certain kinds of material are quite stifi' and often curl up or become warped so that they cannot be positioned to go under the front wall of the magazine or be engaged by the feeding mechanism to be properly fed to the skiving devices.

The primary objectof the present invention is to provide a feeding mechanism for a skiving or other blank fitting machine by which warped or curled blanks may be properly fed to the blank treating devices.

In accordance with this object, one feature of the invention contemplates the provision in a blank fitting machine having blank feeding and positioning rolls, a reciprocatory feeding means for presenting blanks to the rolls in timed relation to their operation, a table for supporting the blanks, and a gate above the table for holding the blanks down upon the table, of yieldingly mounted plungers behind the gate which will extend across the blank to flatten it on the table in a proper position to be engaged by 'the feeding means. In the preferred form of the invention the blanks are held down during the feeding operation by a spring pressedgate, and the yieldingly mounted plungers for flattening the blanks are mounted upon the gate and tend to force the blank under the gate as it is being fed. The plungers have sufficient drag on the blank to hold it back so that it will be adjusted longitudinally by the feeding means and properly presented to the rolls.

The invention also includes certain further features of construction and combinations of parts which are hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

The several features of the invention are lllustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view partly in section, of a cavity roll skiving machine embodying the preferred form of the invention; Fig. 2 1s a view in vertical section of the machine shown in Fig. 1, illustrating the skiving devices and feeding mechanism; and Fig. 3 is a detail view of the improved feeding mechanism.

The machine illustrated in the drawings is substantially the same in the construction, arrangement and mode of operation of its various parts as the machine shown in the patent to Scott N 0. 969,987, dated September 18, 1910. This machine is provided with a cavity or die roll 10, a feed or pressure roll 12, and a fixed skiving knife 14 which has its cutting edge extending close to the line of contact of the die and pressure rolls with the blank. The blanks are supported upon a table 16 and fed forward to the bite of the die and pressure rolls by means of a slide 18. The slide 18 makes a complete reciprocation during each revolution of the die and pressure rolls and is operated in timed relation thereto so that a blank presented by the slide will register with the cavity 20 in the roll 10. The parts above referred to are substantially the same as those shown in the patent above referred to.

Counter and box toe blanks of certain kinds of material are very stiff and often curl up and become warped. These blanks cannot be arranged in a stack and automatically fed from a magazine such as is shown in the patent to Scott above referred to, because the follower which holds the blanks down on the table cannot be regulated to give the proper pressure to straighten the blanks so that they can be properly fed by the feed slide. If the follower is regulated to give suflicient pressure to flatten the blanks on the table, they are clamped so tight that the feed slide will not properly feed them. To adapt this type of machine for skiving warped or curled blanks, the follower is done away with and the machine is run at a speed which permits the blanks to be placed by hand one at a time in position to be acted upon by the feed slide.

The machine shown in the drawings is provided with the usual movable gate 22 which is pressed toward the table by springs 23 mounted at each end of the gate. This gate assists in holding a blank against the table while it is being presented to the die and pressure rolls. The bottom of the gate is cut away at 24 to aid in starting the blank in under the gate and also to allow the feed slide to pass under the gate. To insure that the blank shall pass under the gate, a series of plungers 26 for guiding the blank are mounted in bearings 28 which are attached to the front of the gate. These plungers are pressed toward the table 16 by means of stiff springs 30, the pressure of which may be adjusted by means of screws 32. The plungers 26 also serve to flatten a blank on the table sufficiently so that it will be engaged and moved forward by the feed slide 18. To this end guide fingers 34 are formed on the plungers which project rearwardly and upwardly from the gate. The fingers extend out far enough from the gate so that 'when a warped blank is pushed thereunder, it will be flattened on the table in position to be en gaged by the feed slide.

The feed slide usually employed in this type of machine is generally slightly thinner than the thickness of the blank. To facilitate the feeding of warped or curled blanks, the feed slide of the machine illustrated is built up with a plate 36 to give a comparatively wide face for contact with the blanks. The effective pressing faces of the plunger fingers 34 extend far enough across a-blank to hold it down sufiiciently so that the pushing face of the slide will engage the blank to feed it in timed relation to the movement of the rolls. The pressure of the springs 30 causes the plungers 26 to drag on the blank and hold it back against the pushing face of the slide 18 and plate 36 so that it will be in proper position to be which is carried by the usual guard plate 44 that covers the feed slide. The carrier 42 may be adjusted transversely of the machine table by means of a slot 46 in the carrier and a bolt 48 in the guard plate. The gage 40 is pivotally mounted on the carrier 42 and is normally held against the table 16 by means of a leaf spring 50 which is attached to the carrier 42 and bears against a pin 52 on the gage 40. 'This pivotal mounting of the gage permits it to rise and fall to allow the feed slide to pass under it when feeding a blank.

To better adapt the machine for hand feed, a guide plate 54 is attached to the front end of the guard plate 44. The upper face of the guide plate54 is rounded and inclined toward the table 16 and is directly oppositeof the blank will be clamped under the fin gers 34 when the rear edge of the blank passes the guide 54 to rest on the table.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The blanks to be skived are placed in a pile upon the guard plate 44 and .the H13.

chine set in operation. The feed slide re- V.

ciprocates back and forth, and during the backward stroke of the feed slide the operator pushes a blank into the slot between the fingers 34 and guide plate 54 until the end of the blank passes the guide plate. The plungers press the blank toward the table, and when the slide has passed under the guide plate 54 and guard plate 44, the blank is forced down upon the table by thelingers 34. In placing the blank into the slot, the operator holdsone edge against the gage 40 to transversely position the blank, and; on the forward stroke of the feed slide if the blank is not in proper longitudinal alinement to engage the front edge of the slide 18, one end or'the other of the blank will be pushed forward until it is in proper alinement. hile the blank is being placed in proper longitudinal alinement, however, the

fingers 34 clamp the blank against the table i with sufficient pressure to hold the edge of the blank in contact with the gage 40, so that the transverse position of the blank will not be altered. It is not important that the plungers completelyv flatten the'blank, because the feed slide is built up to form a high enoughedge to engage a blank which is slightly warped. The upwardly inclined arrangement of the fingers, however, insure .that the front edge of'the blank' will be pressed hard enough against the table so 7' that it will pass under thegate as it is being advanced to the feed rolls. If the blank is not fiat, the gate will, in turn, assist the plungers in holding it down upon the table, because the portions of the gate, extending beyond the slot 24 into which the plate 36 passes, will engage the blank as it is advanced to the feed rolls.

In the preferred form of the invention two plungers are used for holding the blank upon the feed table, but it is to be understood that the number and location of such plungers depend upon the length and kind of blanks to be skived.

While th invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a skiving machine, it is obvious that it could be used in most any type of blank fitting machine which has a hand feed for feeding blanks one at a time in a definite relation to blank treating devices.

In the specification and claims, the terms forward, front, rearwardly, and be hind, have been used to denote the relative position of the parts in the machine, and this position is determined with reference to the direction of the feeding of the blanks.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed as new, is

1. A blank fitting machine having, in combination, blank feeding and positioning rolls, a reciprocatory feeding means for presenting a blank to the rolls in timed relation to their operation, a table for supporting a blank, a gate above the table behind the rolls, a guide plate mounted above the table, and yieldingly mounted plungers behind the gate having fingers thereon which ex tend far enough toward the guide plate to flatten a blank on the table between the gate and guide plate.

2. A blank fitting machine having, in combination, blank feeding and positioning rolls, a reciprocatory feeding means for presenting a blank to the rolls in timed relation to their operation, a table for supporting a blank, a gate above the table behind the rolls, and yieldingly mounted plungers behind the gate which extend across the blank to flatten it on the table sufficiently to be engaged by the feeding means.

3. A blank fitting machine having, in combination, blank feeding and positioning rolls, a reciprocatory feeding means for presenting a blank to the rolls in timed relation to their operation, a table for supporting the blank, a gate above the table behind the rolls, a guide plate mounted above the table behind the gate, and yieldingly mounted plungers between the gate and guide plate having fingers which extend rearwardly and upwardly toward the guide plate to form a slot with the guide plate into which the blank may be forced by hand to flatten it on the table in the path of the feeding means.

at. A blank fitting machine having, in combination, blank feeding and positioning rolls, a reciprocatory feeding means for presenting a blank to the rolls in timed relation to their operation, a table for supporting the blank, a yieldingly mounted gate behind the rolls for holding the blank upon the table, and plungers mounted on the gate having rearwardly and upwardly extending fingers for forcing the blank under the gate as it is fed to the rolls.

5. A blank fitting machine having, in combination, blank feeding and positioning rolls, a reciprocatory feed slide for presenting a blank to the rolls in timed relation to their operation, said slide having a pushing face of greater height than the thickness of the blank, a guide plate over the feed slide, a table for supporting a blank, and spring pressed plungers having fingers extending in close proximity to the end of the guide plate for pressing the blank against the table in the path of the pushing edge of the feed slide.

6. A blank fitting machine having, in combination, blank feeding and positioning rolls, a reciprocatory feeding means for pre-- senting a blank to the rolls in timed relation to their operation, a table for supporting a blank, a guide plate mounted above the feeding means, a gage on the table for determining the transverse position of the blank, and spring pressed plungers mounted above the table to clamp the blank on the table and maintain the transverse position of the blank while the feeding means adjust it longitudinally to be properly positioned in the rolls.

7. A blank fitting machine having, in combination, a blank skiving mechanism, blank feeding and positioning rolls, a reciprocatory feeding means for presenting a blank to the rolls in timed relation to their operation, a table for supporting the blank, a guide plate mounted above the feeding means having a face inclined toward the table, a series of yieldable plungers behind the rolls having rearwardly and upwardly extending fingers mounted opposite the inclined face of the guide plate to form a slot into which the blank may be forced by hand to hold the blank upon the table, and a gage on the guide plate for positioning the blank.

ELMER E. LANE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

